u/FennelNo4465

Planning our November trip to Kyoto with a 21-month-old toddler and looking for some advice on a specific transit stretch: we want to hit Nijo Castle in the morning, then head over to Kiyomizu-dera and walk downhill through the Higashiyama historic streets toward Gion.

For those who have done this during peak season:

1. How bad is the traffic/gridlock approaching Kiyomizu dera from Nijo Castle?

2. Can taxis actually drop you off close to Kiyomizu-dera's upper entrance, or do they get blocked far down the hill?

Open to other alternative modes of transportation as well or other midpoint taxi drop off points. Trying to keep things comfortable with a toddler minimizing commute time and walking.

Just booked a Qantas-operated flight (QF12 LAX → SYD on the A380) through Alaska Airlines for March 2027.

With a previous JAL booking through Alaska, I was able to get the JL booking reference, log into JAL's website, and select seats right away.

This time I got the Qantas booking reference and can see the reservation on there, but when I go to seat selection it says: "Individual seat selection isn't available for this flight."

I'm traveling with my spouse and a toddler, so my main concern is making sure the three of us are seated together.

Has anyone else run into this with Qantas bookings through Alaska? Should I just hope they'd seat us together at the 24 hr check in mark?

Just booked a Qantas-operated flight (QF12 LAX → SYD on the A380) through Alaska Airlines for March 2027.

With a previous JAL booking through Alaska, I was able to get the JL booking reference, log into JAL's website, and select seats right away.

This time I got the Qantas booking reference and can see the reservation on there, but when I go to seat selection it says: "Individual seat selection isn't available for this flight."

I'm traveling with my spouse and a toddler, so my main concern is making sure the three of us are seated together.

Has anyone else run into this with Qantas bookings through Alaska? Should I just hope they'd seat us together at the 24 hr check in mark?

We’re visiting from the US, and years ago my wife mentioned she’d love a classic beige trench coat if we ever visit London. She really likes the timeless, tailored Kensington/Chelsea-style look(from what I found so far), but I know she’d never be comfortable with me spending £1,895 ($2,850 USD) on a coat.
I’d love to find something with a similar classic London aesthetic, good quality, and a more reasonable budget of around £1,100 ($1,500 USD) max, ideally less.
For those familiar with London shopping, what stores or brands should I be looking at, and what offers the best value without paying purely for the logo?

Thanks!

My wife and I are debating this and wanted opinions from parents who have been there.

Our son is about 18 months old. He watches very little TV at home. The only screen time he really gets is the occasional 15-20 minutes of Ms. Rachel if I'm trying to finish a work call or cook dinner while he's home from daycare.

We've taken him on multiple flights since he was 6 months old, including several long-haul international flights, and we've managed without screens for the most part. Lots of snacks, books, toys, walks up and down the aisle, etc.

The dilemma is that we have two more international trips this year and another long-haul international trip next year. He's now old enough to actually understand and engage with screens, and I'm wondering if it makes sense to buy a cheap Amazon Fire tablet and keep it as an emergency backup for flights only.

My wife feels 18 months is too young and that we should continue managing without screens like we always have. I'm more in the camp of "have it available just in case things go sideways on a 10+ hour flight."

For parents who generally limit screen time at home:

• Did you make an exception for long-haul travel and is it too early to introduce them?

Curious whether we're being sensible or just making life harder on ourselves for no reason.

My wife and I are debating this and wanted opinions from parents who have been there.

Our son is about 18 months old. He watches very little TV at home. The only screen time he really gets is the occasional 15-20 minutes of Ms. Rachel if I'm trying to finish a work call or cook dinner while he's home from daycare.

We've taken him on multiple flights since he was 6 months old, including several long-haul international flights, and we've managed without screens for the most part. Lots of snacks, books, toys, walks up and down the aisle, etc.

The dilemma is that we have two more international trips this year and another long-haul international trip next year. He's now old enough to actually understand and engage with screens, and I'm wondering if it makes sense to buy a cheap Amazon Fire tablet and keep it as an emergency backup for flights only.

My wife feels 18 months is too young and that we should continue managing without screens like we always have. I'm more in the camp of "have it available just in case things go sideways on a 10+ hour flight."

For parents who generally limit screen time at home:

• Did you make an exception for long-haul travel and is it too early to introduce them?

Curious whether we're being sensible or just making life harder on ourselves for no reason.

My wife and I are flying BA on an overnight long-haul flight from London to the US with a lap infant (toddler age). We have bassinet seats on the outbound red-eye, but not on the return.

Right now we have 34B and 34C booked (middle + aisle), so we're guaranteed to be together. (Boeing 787)

However, rows behind us (around 38 and back) are currently almost completely empty. We're considering switching to 38A and 38C (window + aisle) and leaving the middle seat open.

Best case: nobody books 38B and we effectively get 3 seats for 2 adults + a lap infant.

Worst case: someone gets assigned 38B. We'd then offer them either the window or aisle seat so we can sit together, which seems like a reasonable trade.

For those who fly BA long-haul or travel with lap infants:

• Would you keep the guaranteed adjacent seats?
• Would you gamble on the empty-middle strategy?
• Are most people willing to swap a middle seat for a window or aisle?
• Not looking to buy an extra seat. Just trying to optimize comfort on a long overnight flight.

Thanks!

Visiting London for the first time and staying at Marlin Waterloo. We'll be arriving at Heathrow on a Saturday afternoon in August with:

• 2 adults (myself included)
• 19 month Toddler
• Lightweight foldable stroller
• large checked suitcases
• carry-on

We won’t be carrying our US car seat, the airport transfer will only be the likely car transport we ever take.
We're considering:

1. Elizabeth Line + Tube all the way to Waterloo, or
2. Elizabeth Line to Paddington, then a black cab/Uber for the final leg, or

We can split the luggage between the two of us, so weight isn't a huge issue.

My main questions:

• Is the entire Elizabeth Line → Tube → Waterloo route step-free with elevators (no stairs required)?
• How crowded is the Tube from Paddington toward Waterloo on a Saturday afternoon?
• With our luggage/stroller setup, would you take transit or just pay for the cab?

Thanks! 🚇👶🧳🧳

We’ve been using the Atmos Ascend card for a while now and honestly get a ton of value out of the companion fare, especially for last-minute flights to the East Coast. We’ve also used it a bunch for trips to Hawaii, Mexico, Texas, etc every year. Coincidentally most of our flights end up on Alaska (cheaper/best option) even when not using the companion fare and we like the benefit of free checked bags.

We just added a third member to the family, so I’m wondering if it makes sense to get a second card for my wife to double up on companion fares going forward, use them twice a year on different itineraries.

For those flying regularly out of PDX:

* Has getting multiple companion fare cards been worth it for you?
* Are there *any other cards* that offer a similarly simple, no-surprises companion fare (especially from a PDX hub perspective)?
* The only downside I see is planning to put 6k in purchases on this new card. The 85k joining bonus is great.

Appreciate any insights or alternatives.

We’ve been using the Atmos Ascend card for a while now and honestly get a ton of value out of the companion fare, especially for last-minute flights to the East Coast. We’ve also used it a bunch for trips to Hawaii, Mexico, Texas, etc every year. Coincidentally most of our flights end up on Alaska (cheaper/best option) even when not using the companion fare and we like the benefit of free checked bags.

We just added a third member to the family, so I’m wondering if it makes sense to get a second card for my wife to double up on companion fares going forward.

For those flying regularly out of PDX:

• Has getting multiple companion fare cards been worth it for you?
• Are there any other cards that offer a similarly simple, no-surprises companion fare (especially from a PDX hub perspective)?

Appreciate any insights or alternatives.

Hi everyone, looking for advice on timing for UK standard visitor visas (applying from the US).

My wife and I are applying together (both standard not priority):

• I have a biometrics appointment on June 12
• She currently has one on July 15

We plan to travel to the UK together on Aug 14.

Complication:
My wife has another international trip from July 4–12, so we want to avoid any risk of her not having her passport during that time.

Now our local VFS (USCIS) has June 12 (earliest) appointments available for her as well, both standard and priority, so we’re debating:

Option 1: Move her to June 12 + priority (5-day)
Option 2: Keep July 15 + move to priority
(avoiding July 15 + standard since that seems tight before Aug 14)

Main concern is:

• Not disrupting her July 4–12 trip (passport availability)
• But also making sure she gets the visa comfortably before Aug 14, especially with summer travel.

Has anyone from the US dealt with a similar situation recently?

• How reliable is priority right now, considering peak summer travel?
• Is June 12 + priority safe enough before early July travel?
• Or better to avoid any overlap and stick with July 15 + priority?

I’m applying for a UK Standard Visitor Visa along with my spouse and wanted some advice on how to present finances cleanly without overcomplicating things.

Context:

• Both of us are employed in the US (Permanent Residents) with stable income
• Combined NET income is sufficient to comfortably cover our monthly expenses. Our checking balances show a small amount left every month and it won't cover our trip expenses. Gross has high deductions for tax/savings.
• We share household expenses (paid from both incomes, generally split proportionally)
• Savings are primarily joint accounts (cash + brokerage) that we plan to show as proof of funds, joint savings cash has 3 times the amount to cover our overall trip expenses, we will include this along with individual PaySlip, Employment letter and checking statements.
• We also have some additional individual brokerage accounts, which I’m currently not planning to include
• Estimated trip cost is in the mid-range (flights already booked and paid)

Questions:

• For a couple, is it better to explicitly explain how we split income/expenses (e.g., proportional contribution), or just present combined income + total household expenses?
• When listing monthly expenses, should we:
  • show a combined household number, or
  • split per person?
• For savings:
  • Is it fine to only show joint accounts (cash + brokerage) and not mention individual accounts?
  • Should I state approximate totals in a cover letter, or just rely on statements?
• For travel costs:
  • If flights are already paid, should they still be included in the total estimated trip cost?
  • Is it worth uploading flight tickets, even though the official guidance says they’re not strictly required?
• Do you recommend adding a cover letter explaining income, shared finances, and savings structure, or is that unnecessary if the documents are clear?

Applying from USA but not us citizen.

For a UK visitor visa, how do caseworkers evaluate finances when the gross income is high but net income is lower due to deductions (retirement, health, investments)?My bank statements show regular salary deposits, but most of it gets moved out each month (investments/savings), so the checking account balance tends to get low by the end of the month after normal expenses.
Recently, I also moved a significant portion of savings into an investment account, so I don’t have a lot of liquid funds sitting in the bank right now.

In this situation:Do they focus more on income vs end balance?Is it fine if the account shows money coming in and going out regularly?Can I include statements from investment accounts as part of proof of funds? Should I show bank statements from wife’s accounts as well ?